In a letter sent to Queens District Attorney-Elect Melinda Katz, The Legal Aid Society urges support for needed measures to reverse the punitive approach to law enforcement that the Brown/Ryan Administration employed for decades, reports Patch NYC.

The Bar Association also announced its support to increase the New York State Parole Board commissioners from 19 to 30 to address a backlog of cases, according to THE CITY.

"This will be more of the same, and our clients – New Yorkers from communities of color – will continue to suffer more of the same from a police department that prioritizes arrests and summonses above all else."

Local district attorneys are already instructing fellow prosecutors and police officers on ways to work around newly enacted criminal justice reforms – bail, criminal discovery, and speedy trial - that will finally overhaul New York’s antiquated pretrial laws come January 2020, according to the New York Daily News.

The Legal Aid Society called on the Queens District Attorney’s Office to immediately consent to a recently filed vacatur motion regarding the case of Michael Robinson, according to NY1.

We have an intrinsic connection to the daily lives of New Yorkers. Here are a few of the places we made a difference, provided context or added valuable perspective this week.

A New York State Court of Appeals decision in The People v. Mouhamed Thiam upheld a well-established precedent securing the rights of New Yorkers to challenge jurisdictionally defective charges on appeal, reports the New York Law Journal.

The reforms unveiled by advocates and lawmakers could serve as a national model for much-needed change across the country, according to the New York Daily News.

Each year, The Legal Aid Society recognizes an individual for their exceptional contributions as a pro bono volunteer. This year’s Public Interest Law Leadership Award was presented to Jennifer L. Kroman, of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

The report of the independent Federal Court-appointed Monitor details the continued misuse of force in NYC jails, according to THE CITY.